Portable welder is building a Pipe Welding Rig

[chris2626]

I came across this dodge truck for sale on ebay and really like the bed on this thing. The tires are way to dang big but the bed looks pretty nice and would be nice to do kinda the same design but with maybe aluminum but I don't know when I see the cost of aluminum I'm sure I'd be like h*ll no. I built a bed in school kinda like this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge...spagenameZWDVW

[c wagner]

I came across this dodge truck for sale on ebay and really like the bed on this thing. The tires are way to dang big but the bed looks pretty nice and would be nice to do kinda the same design but with maybe aluminum but I don't know when I see the cost of aluminum I'm sure I'd be like h*ll no. I built a bed in school kinda like this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Dodge...spagenameZWDVW

Wow! 3/16 steel seems kinda thick, is that a standard practice for pipeline rigs in the US or just this guys preference?

[Portable Welder]

I finished painting the bed tonight so we will be putting it on tommorow and start wiring there after.

I'll have pictures to follow.

[pocket change]

my bed is 3/16 all yhe way

not to heavy made mine out of 3/16 because it was free off job and matched pipe thickness used to make all corners round some guys around here have started making their beds out of 18 ga steel so that it is easily broke to match body lines of truck new fad I guess and very light weight maybe 8-10 of this style running around here

[c wagner]

I finished painting the bed tonight so we will be putting it on tommorow and start wiring there after.

I'll have pictures to follow.

Can't wait to see how it turns out!

not to heavy made mine out of 3/16 because it was free off job and matched pipe thickness used to make all corners round some guys around here have started making their beds out of 18 ga steel so that it is easily broke to match body lines of truck new fad I guess and very light weight maybe 8-10 of this style running around here

Hmm interesting, I would have thought somewhere between 14ga to 10ga would be the norm, depending on the amount of structure that was used underneath. We use 3/16 alum. for the skid bases and 1/8 alum. for the boxes.
Hey portable is it ok if I post a few pics in this thread or would you prefer I started my own?

[Portable Welder]

CWagner,

Please do post, We all love to see all the different rigs out there.

I'm going to make a new thread to ask tech tips on wiring the Chevy 3500 I'm working on.

When we wired the brake Light and turn singnal we had problems of it back feeding into the blinker circuit when stepping on the brake.

[c wagner]

CWagner,

Please do post, We all love to see all the different rigs out there.

I'm going to make a new thread to ask tech tips on wiring the Chevy 3500 I'm working on.

When we wired the brake Light and turn singnal we had problems of it back feeding into the blinker circuit when stepping on the brake.

Thanks Portable, I'll resize some and post em up! We did a deck on an '07 last year (I don't have pics of that one)and had the same issue your talking about... now if I could only remember what we did!!! I'll let you know as soon as I remember.

[c wagner]

Here's the buisness end of a Chevy shortbox version

Welder can be rolled all the way out for maintenance

This one was built for a Ford, shows some more options and a different flavour welder

Here is one on a Dodge Long box

[Portable Welder]

Wow thats some great looking work c Wagner, Very impressed.

The rig I built for my friend was not meant to be pretty, we built it for functionality.

Here are some more pics, we have to get the wiring figured out still, then I have to build the brace to lock the tanks into place, mount a pack rat tool box on the bed, make a tow hook in front so they can pull him through the mudd.

And then its time to put the tools on it and drive it to work.

[Goulet!]

The truck came out real nice. And black is the best color you can always touch it up when gets scratched and rusty.

[JTMcC]

Can't wait to see how it turns out!



Hmm interesting, I would have thought somewhere between 14ga to 10ga would be the norm, depending on the amount of structure that was used underneath. We use 3/16 alum. for the skid bases and 1/8 alum. for the boxes.
Hey portable is it ok if I post a few pics in this thread or would you prefer I started my own?

The norm, is 10 ga. a lot of guys will put heavier plate at the rear part of the deck where the heavy stuff gets tossed, and the hitch for the trailer will normally be welded. But 10 ga. rules in American welding bed construction.
Of course some will use heavier and some will use lighter, but the vast majority will be 10 ga. if you go lighter than that, you end up needing to build more supporting structure for the lighter skin, or having large waves and bends in your bed after a few years hard use.

JTMcC.

[JTMcC]

When we wired the brake Light and turn singnal we had problems of it back feeding into the blinker circuit when stepping on the brake.

Every time I've ever seen one circuit bleeding over into another on a welding rig, it's been related to a bad ground somewhere in the system.
I'm no electric guru of course.

JTMcC.

[JTMcC]

That is by far (at least 3' or 5') the longest pipeline welding rig I've ever seen. That poor guy is going to be making 40 point turns on tight row's.

Most guys chop the frame off right behind the rear spring hanger on a standard one ton. That looks like a long wheelbase one ton??

He's going to get a lot of exercise cranking that steering wheel back and forth.

JTMcC.

I looked again, make that 5' or 6'. That truck is going to be hard or impossible to work on tie ins.

[chris2626]

Here's the buisness end of a Chevy shortbox version

Welder can be rolled all the way out for maintenance

This one was built for a Ford, shows some more options and a different flavour welder

Here is one on a Dodge Long box

God D*M that thing is fine looking to pretty to put to work Can you say BLING BLING LOL D*M nice truck

[Cornerstone]

Very nice indeed!!

Man, that is indeed very nice work. Does your shop also build aluminum decks? 'Cause if the price is right, a guy won't have to drive all the way to Express Custom decks out on Vancouver Island.